Roman Abramovich shelves Chelsea FC stadium plan

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich scrapped plans for a major revamp of Chelsea Football Club's stadium, days after the renewal of his U.K. visa was delayed.

Abramovich had planned to turn Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seat stadium, at a cost believed to be close to £1 billion, the Guardian reported. But the West London club said Thursday that the plans had been put on hold, citing the “current unfavourable investment climate.”

Chelsea said: “No further pre-construction design and planning work will occur. The club does not have a timeframe set for reconsideration of its decision.”

The announcement comes after the club's Russian owner ran afoul of the U.K. Home Office. Abramovich held an entrepreneurial visa that expired several weeks ago. He applied for a new one, but it was not granted.

As a result, Abramovich — the 13th richest person in Britain (according to the Sunday Times) — did not attend Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup final this month. He also failed to testify in a London court dispute between two other Russian oligarchs, Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin.

As a result of the U.K. delay, Abramovich secured Israeli citizenship. The Jerusalem Post reported that the oligarch then withdrew his request for a British investor visa.

Although he would be able to visit the U.K. without a visa for up to six months at a time on an Israeli passport, Abramovich would not be permitted to work in Britain.